Air cleaner



Feb. 2, 1937.' w, w. MOE 2,069,379

AIR CLEANER Filed March 13, l19,36

ATTORNEY f Y 1./ ,f I l f/ 0 LS LIU-wf f i, Ik; ffm www@ ily/M v @wPatented Feb; 2, A1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to air cleaners, and its general objectv is toprovide a cleaner primarily 'designed for use with internal combustionengines, that is capable of thoroughly ,and completely removing alldirt, dust and other foreign matter from the air before it reaches theengine, and in a manner whereby the larger and majority of the particlesare removed and thrown out of the cleaner, by centrifugalvforce, so asto not accumulate therein, and clog the same,` while the remainingparticles are caught by removable ltering means, with the result thatthe air is rendered free from all foreign matter before it passes to thecarburetor to be mixed with the fuel.

Another object of 'the invention is to provide a cleaner designed to bearranged in the path of the air currents created by the fan ofthecooling system of the engine, to utilize the currents in forcing airthrough the cleaner.

A further object of the invention is to provide va cleaner that includesdetachably associated and arrangement of the several parts, to be herefinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing andspecifically pointed Ofut in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detai1reference will be hadto theaccompanying drawing wherein like characters denote like orcorresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 isa top planview of the cleaner `which forms the subject matterof the present invention, with parts broken away and in section, andillustrates the course that the air takes in passing therethrough, bythe use of arrows.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the cleaner andillustrates its application to bring out the association thereof withrespect to the fan of the cooling system of the engine. I

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be noted that my cleanerincludes what may be termed a lower or air chamber I whichl ispreferably of circular formation, in that it includes a circular wall 2,preferably integral with upper and lower Walls, the former beingindicated by the reference numeral 3 and has'a Icentrally arrangedilanged outlet opening 4 therein, with the flange thereof rising fromabout the edge of the y opening, as clearly shown'in Figure 2.

The inlet means 5 for the air chamber I is in the form of a pipe sectionthatv extends laterally from the chamber and is curved to be directedforwardly therefrom, and terminates in an outwardly flared outer end, asbest shown in Figure l. Preferably arranged in the curved wall of theair chamber I, diametrically oppositethe entrance of the inlet meanswith respect thereto, is a slot or. opening 6 that is provided with abaille 1, and the slot 6 is preferably provided by 15 cutting the metalof the circular wall and disposing the cut portion inwardly to form thebaille. The slot or opening 6 acts as an outlet opening, for dirt, dustand foreign matter, as

the air in passing through the air chamber will 20 be given a-circularmotion due to the shape thereof and thereby throw the foreign ,matteroutwardly by centrifugal force which will cause the same to pass throughthe slot 6.

The air chamber in fact forms a part of the base section for my cleaner,and formed with the upper wall 3 for disposal fiush therewith is a lrearwardly extending portion 8 which together with the upper wall 3 hasan upturned flange 9 extending about the outer edge thereof, and the 30extending portion 8 is provided with a. downwardly directed nipple Illto be secured to the airv intake pipe A of a carburetor not shown, andthe pipe A is disposed whereby the inlet means 5 of the air chamber I isarranged in close association to the fan B.

The upper or filter chamber of my cleaner includes atop wall I I, arounded forward wall portion I2 which merges into converging side wallportions I3, while the rear wall is rounded but slopes downwardly as atI 4.

The top wall II of the upper or filter chamber has formed therewith andrising therefrom a n I5 having .a notch in the upper end thereof, to actas a keeper for receivinga substantially bail shaped latch member I6forsecuring the lter chamber to the lower section andfor disposal aboutthe air inlet means 5. 'I'he bail shaped latch member has the lowerendsof its arms pivotally received by apertured ears I1 which are formed onand rise from diametrically opposite sides of the upper wal1'3, andholdthe filter chamber or upper section secure to the lowerf section,with the lower edge of the upper section in fitting association inwardlyof the ange 8.

A gasket I8 is disposed between the lower edge and the lower section toprovide a leak proof conneetion, as will be apparent.

The filter is of a shape to follow the general outline of the filterchamber or section and such isof substantial oval configuration, as bestshown in Figure l. The filter is made up of a pair of spaced screenwalls i9 which has disposed between the same metallic wool 20, andflanged cap strips are provided at the upper and lower ends 'of thenner, as shown. The alter is or a height From the above description anddisclosure of4 the drawing, it will be obvious that due to the combinedforce created by suction in the engine, and the air currents from thefan B, that the air will be forced through the cleaner, and initiallywithin the air chamber I, wherein the larger and majority of theparticles of dirt, dust and foreign matter will be removed from the airby passing through the slot 6. From the chaine ber l, the air passesinto the lter chamber for disposal directly within the lter, as bestshown in Figure 2, thence through the filtering medium for disposal inthe air space exteriorly of the filter, andY from the air space the airis further forced toward the outlet chamber 24 for passage into the airintake pipe A, with the result it will be seen that the air will berendered free from dirt, dust and foreign matter before it reaches thecarburetor to be mixed with the fuel.

Again, it will be further obvious that the particular shape of thecleaner will offer very little resistance to the air as well as adds tothe stream line effect which is becoming an important factor in thepresent day motor vehicles.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages andnovel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

Itistobeunderstoodthatchang'esmaybe made in the construction and in thecombination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that suchchanges fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An air cleaner comprising a lower section including a circular airinlet chamber having an outlet in the peripheral wall thereof, inletmeans for the chamber and arranged with respect thereto to producecentrifugal force therein, an upper section including a filter chamberand mounted on the lower section, with the filter chamber communicatingwith the air chamber, bail means pivotally secured to the lower section,keeper means secured to the upper section for receiving the bail meansto detachably secure the sections together, hollow cylindrical filteringmeans surrounding the communicating means and providing air spaceexteriorly of the filtering means, and outlet means for the air spaceand extending from the lower section. I

2. An air cleaner comprising a'relatively flat substantially circularlower section providing an air inlet chamber having an outlet in theperipheral wall thereof, inlet means for the chamber and including apipe section extending tangentially from said Wall to producecentrifugal force within the chamber by the passage of air therethrough,a relatively large substantially oval shaped upper section providing afilter chamber and resting upon the lower section with the air chamberof the latter communicating with the filter chamber, said upper sectionhaving a downwardly inclined rear portion providing outlet means for thefilter chamber, a downwardly directed nipple on the lower chamber withthe outlet means of the filter chamber registering therewith, hollowsubstantially oval shaped filtering means within the filter chamber andfollowing the shape thereof, said filtering means cooperating with theupper and lower walls of the respective chambers to enclose the communi-.cating meansand arranged to provide an air space exteriorly thereof incommunication with the filter chamber outlet means, and bail and keepermeans detachably securing the sections together.

WALTER W. MOE.

